The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has appointed and sworn in a former Commissioner for Housing in Lagos State, Alhaji Rahman Akanni Owokoniran, as the South West Zonal Chairman of the party.
This is just as the party, in a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday after the inauguration of the Owokoniran-led zonal executive committee, debunked suggestions that the party is in crisis in the zone.
The statement, signed by a chieftain of the party, Mr Coker Onita, however, maintained that the ADC remains resolute in its determination to wrest control from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and warned members to be wary of misleading and anonymous publications circulating under the name “ADC Lagos State Stakeholders Forum.”
Coker Onita added: “For the avoidance of doubt, Hon. (Alhaji) Rahman Akanni Owokoniran was today duly inaugurated and sworn in as the South West Zonal Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by the Deputy National Chairman, Dr Bamidele Ajadi, who is the highest-ranking national officer of the party in the South West, with the full consent, approval, and authority of the National Chairman of ADC, His Excellency Senator David Mark, and the national leadership of the party.”
The party further stated that: “Any claim suggesting that the South West zonal leadership has been disowned by the national leadership of ADC is entirely false, misleading, and deliberately calculated to deceive party members and the general public.
“Furthermore, the party views this anonymous publication as part of a coordinated attempt by agents and sympathisers of the ruling APC to sow division, manufacture internal crises, and destabilise the ADC, particularly in the South West, where the party continues to gain strength, credibility, and grassroots acceptance.”
Coker Onita, who described the ADC Lagos State Stakeholders Forum as a faceless group unknown to the leadership of the party, also carpeted it as a fifth column working for the ruling party with the sole aim of destroying the ADC.
The party stated: “In a democratic political party, anonymous accusations are not acts of accountability; they are acts of subversion. If those behind this publication truly claim to be stakeholders of ADC, they should have the courage to boldly state their names, positions, and mandates.
“The ADC welcomes constructive criticism, internal debate, and lawful engagement, but it will firmly resist APC-sponsored infiltration, misinformation, and bad-faith politics aimed at undermining duly constituted party leadership.
“ADC remains united, focused, and committed to building a credible alternative for Nigerians. The South West zonal leadership under Rahman Owokoniran stands legitimate, recognised, and fully backed by the national leadership of the party.”
